OAPS: Old Age Presidents

Donald Trump, aged 79, is facing in his second term similar questions to those he himself posed in the past: does his age mean he lacks the ability to govern a nation? Before winning the latest election, Trump had criticised then-US president Joe Biden, then aged 78 and today aged 83, considering him too old for office. Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, today aged 80, has also been the target of criticism because of his age.

But why does old age become an accusation? Why is it taken for granted that having lived longer is something negative? Surely presidents have other matters for which they may be criticised? Old age, both in the case of Biden and now with Trump, now takes centre stage more than poor governance, corruption, or people’s standards of living.

The United States is not the only country with older leaders. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, is 75 years old. Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo, is 82. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea, is 83. And Paul Biya, President of Cameroon, is currently the oldest head of state in the world, aged 92. Old age is regarded as a negative attribute in certain cultures – synonymous with a lack of power, vigour, and lucidity – while in other parts of the world it is a symbol of experience, respect, integrity, and emotional control.

“Old age is understood culturally; depending on the context, it becomes either a value or a disadvantage. From the 1950s to the present day, the age of presidents has been decreasing. There are places where there are no older MPs, such as Spain, or where there is a general ‘youthification’ of political leaders,” says researcher Ricardo Iacub, a specialist in the psychology of ageing and Doctor of Psychology (UBA). “But there are more bureaucratic structures, such as China or the former Soviet Union, in which age was a very important factor of privilege, because one had to rise through the party ranks, which takes time. The [Catholic] Church still has a similar bureaucratic structure.”

History has shown us that older leaders can not only be good but highly respected – particularly in the religious sphere. To name just a few: Pope Francis, who became Supreme Pontiff at the age of 76; Dalai Lama, the Buddhist leader who turned 90; or the great rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who made his last public appearance at the age of 89.

“Spiritual leaders tend to be older. Judaism has much stronger structures, in which rabbis are very elderly people and where age carries highly important symbolic weight. What do I mean by all this? That culture constructs symbols through which men, women, young people, or older people may come to hold more or less power,” says Iacub.

A study published in the research journal Intelligence, entitled ‘Humans Peak in Midlife,’ examined age across 16 dimensions ranging from physical to emotional and psychological aspects. It concluded that “cognitive and personality functioning generally peak between the ages of 55 and 60.”

Fluid intelligence [the ability to reason and solve new problems without relying on prior knowledge], which peaks around the age of 20 and declines considerably during adulthood, is often considered the most important cognitive ability .... However, human success in areas such as professional careers tends to peak much later, generally between the ages of 55 and 60. This discrepancy may reflect the fact that, while fluid intelligence may decline with age, other dimensions improve; for example, crystallised intelligence [the ability to use knowledge and experience accumulated throughout life], or emotional intelligence,” the study states.

Along the same lines, an article in the scientific journal The Lancet, entitled Can You Be Too Old?, took criticism of Biden as its starting point. It concluded, through various investigations, that “age is not a good indicator of a person’s ability to hold political office.”

Whereas “poor performance in younger people may be perceived as an isolated occurrence, for example due to inadequate preparation or a bad night’s sleep,” in older adults it is usually assumed to be due to their age, wrote the report's authors.

Criticism of old age is not confined to politics; it is also embedded in the workplace. As Iacub explains: “Unfortunately, in our culture old age is associated with a loss of power. People assume that an older person is less up to date than a younger one and therefore there is a preference for younger professionals despite their having less experience. In other words, the notion of experience – the accumulation of power, knowledge, and expertise over time – no longer carries the weight it once did.”

“There is now an idea of widespread retirement and I believe we are lacking older leaders – but especially leaders who have a self-perception as older people and who can fight for the rights of older adults, because we still have not achieved this level of political representation for older people, except in a few cases,” the specialist concludes.

Professor Silvia Gascón, director of the Centre for Active Ageing and Longevity at ISALUD University and president of the Asociación Civil Red Mayor La Plata, agrees: “We must point out that very few of these older leaders embrace their identity as older people. ‘Old people are the others’ remains a prevailing paradigm. That is why it is important not only to have more older leaders, but also for them to have awareness and pride in their age, so that they may take on active leadership roles that break negative and patronising stereotypes and promote the creation of networks that act as a source of social protection against isolation and age discrimination.”

In Argentina, as in many other countries, the population is ageing. Nationwide, people over the age of 60 represent more than 15 percent of the population – a figure expected to exceed 20 percent by 2040.

From here, there are two possibilities. The first is that more and more people will identify with older candidates and vote for them. The second is that, without embracing the identity of old age and while continuing to live and see themselves as young for longer, they will choose candidates who are equally youthful.

“Age is one attribute among many,” Gascón considers, “like being tall, short, female, male, fair-haired, or dark-haired. But society has a negative view of old age. It is associated with what a person cannot do, with what they do not have. Older people are perceived as individuals who have lost their youth – something excessively prized in Western societies. And when we define someone by what they ‘lack,’ in that very act we are discriminating and excluding.”

“Therefore, the question should be whether older people can be inspiring, creative, enjoy success, be proactive, establish good intergenerational relationships; whether they can be supportive, convincing, and have clarity of vision and purpose in life. 

“If the answer is yes, then they possess the qualities of every good leader and it is not only likely, but also desirable, that many older people should have the opportunity to exercise leadership in different fields. And indeed, this already happens in many areas such as art, politics, volunteering, and the business world, among others,” said the expert.

Both professionals agree that age is not an influential factor in the construction of leadership. “What we find is a sort of denigration in which criticism based on age becomes constant. We saw this with Biden, where this questioning appeared continually. At every stage of life there may be highly capable people and less capable people; what we must try to avoid is old age – or youth – becoming a disadvantage in itself,” argues Iacub.